This book is a great introduction to the history of Japan, as the liner on the back of the books says. It suffers a little from the obvious problem of trying to squeeze two thousand years of civilisation into 370 pages, and as such is basically a fleshed out timeline. There is little elaboration on events and presents the reader with an endless string of historical characters, places and dates. However, there is a good focus on the development of the arts in each period. It would seem the authors have a great liking for Japanese verse, so the seemingly often appearance of poetry excerpts can get a little annoying if one is reading it purely for historical information. The book also glosses over recent Japanese history, from about the beginning of the occupation by American forces. As a turbulent time, there would be a lot to write about but if you're interested in that, try John Dower's "Embracing defeat" or a number of other books on Japan's modern history. If you are planning on making a visit to Japan this may be a good book to read so that you know when "that castle" or "this temple" was built, by whom and why.

This book makes an excellent introduction to Japanese history, as it covers the whole spectrum of history and does not focus in on one part too much. About two thirds of the chapters cover political and general history, and the other third look at cultural and religious developments. My only problems are that it doesn't seem to go in-depth in Buddhism enough and it seems to move past the civil war in the 16th century too quickly. It is especially good at developing the ideas of Shiki land rights and how Buddhism developed in Japan. A good general history or introduction to Japanese history.

After reading tons of fiction, it's refreshing to pick this book up. No matter how much you know already, you'll find new things here. I recommend this book especially for you scientists and engineers out there, who are usually curious about everything. Mason covers it all from ancient Greek science to quantum physics and beyond. I especially appreciated the section on Descartes. This is a book you do not have to read from start to finish, you can start wherever you want and jump around. Also, the writing does not read like a reference, thankfully, it flows at an enjoyable pace and presents the sciences in an interesting way.

This is the best one volume work available covering the entire history of science from Ancient Egypt to the 20th Century (including non-Western civilizations). Mason avoids technical jargon and relates science to the everyday world as well as to the world of theory. The book is meant for non-specialists and will give anyone who reads it a real understanding of what science is all about and why it is important.

I used this book through out medical school. It helped me with developing and then fine tuning my skills in history taking and physical examination. It is a must buy for every medical student.

This book has been for many decades the bedrock of clinical skill education for many medical students and residents alike particularly with British oriented education. It is next only to the stethoscope in the must-have category. I find the layout in the recent editions particularly refreshing. The book maintains it's unique ability of providing useful and in depth background for clinical examinations as well as their various interpretation, while not overburdened you with unnecessary details. It played a significant role in my medical education and continues to provide useful and practical tips even in my practice.

This is a very good teaching book which uses simple language. Much better book than Rau's Resp pharmacology, BUT I'm afraid professors are used to Rau's book b/c it has been around long time. Often profesors are afraid to switch books (or lazy b/c have to make new notes), BUT they should switch whenever another book comes out that is better than the one they are using to teach.

I think Colbert and Mason have done a great job with a text that is typically student "unfriendly". I am using it for the first time with a class and students are actually reading the chapters! Other text lose students with terminology and tend to get bogged down in the biochemistry of pharmacolgy losing site of when and how the drugs should be used. The students love the web site and use it to further challenge themselves.

Interesting story, her first quilt at age 9 while living in Kentucky, in her lifetime she made over a 100 quilts, over 40 color pictures, and many black and white, also details the so called woman,s place such as her husband did not want her to wear bright colors, etc. in Kentucky all the civil service jobs at that time went to men, when she moved to Texas , she was able to go to work right away. The pictures, tell the story more as well as the text. The quilts are mostly traditional patterns, she had a very creative touch.

For anyone interested in quilt history or the history of quilters, this is a terrific book. Its focus is on an (in)famous Texas quilter named Martha Mitchell, who lived in Huntsville Texas, after 'emigrating' from Kentucky in 1939. The book is interspered with 'Martha-isms' that are both charming, witty, oldfashioned, yet surprisingly 'modern.' The book skips easily over time and place, sometimes discussing her background and childhood, and other times, her marriage, career and rebelliousness towards some of the expected womanly behaviors of the time. She was a naturally feisty woman, who only became moreso in her old age. The best part of the book, though, is the photography. In addition to photos of Martha at various stages in her life, it also includes over 30 full color photos of her quilts. Many are close enough to see her quilting stitches, and some include her beautiful hands as she worked on her quilts. This is a most charming book about a singularly charming woman. I heartily recommend it. As an aside, PBS did a documentary on Martha in 1985, which is still available on videotape.

This is a book I first read when I was about 10 years old, and it has always been a favorite. I recommend it for any young girl who needs to learn to be more assertive and less shy. It is about a family who moves out west and the pains that Sarah Samantha takes to protect an apple tree.

My mom had always told me on how this book was her favorite growing up. But her copy of it had disapered during the years. I read this book in 5th grade and remember my mom telling me that was the book she had loved when she was little. So as you can see it is a great book that can be passed down for generations.

This is a wonderful compilation of short stories, many of which i had already read in Shiloh. The common thread that i found is that the characters in these stories mean well, but are slightly clueless in this business of life. Here you have Leroy, whose life is disintegrating in front of his eyes, or Sam, who looks back at his long life not understanding how some things happened, or Nancy, wondering how she ended up so far away from home. But there's something very endearing about these people, in most cases illiterate, living in the periphery of middle class. A very enjoyable read.

Not only are the best stories from "Shiloh and Other Stories" here, but some excellent pieces from another volume as well. Even the cover of this book is great, as it illuminates the highly discussed snaking sidewalk in "Shiloh." The commentaries on the stories are gems as well, letting you inside the writer's mind. Wonderful book!

Given that I haven't actually used the information, and I never intended to even before I bought it, the text seems complete. It manages its completeness without being overly academic. I'd consider it more of a "technical" book rather than an "engineering" book: a brass tacks "how-to" rather than physiology, theory, etc. My biggest "complaint" are the illustrations. They seem to be a bit on the "cutesy" side. Perhaps that was what was intended in order to keep the subject light but I would very much have liked to see some detailed top/front/side views of both the male and the female subject - academic quality. Even jumped on Knox Cellars' website hoping for the diagrams but no such luck. Despite this, keep in mind, I feel this book is more than adequate to get anyone up and running with these little pollinators. The previous review does a sufficient job of summarizing so I won't here.

This book tells all about orchard mason bees (and some other native pollinators), what they look like, what they do, why they're particularly good at it, and most of all how we can help.

Orchard mason bees are not honeybees but a small, modest, hard-working, solitary little bee native to the New World. They mind their own business and do a whale of a job pollinating. My blueberry bushes have doubled and tripled their yields since I started putting homes out for the orchard mason bees.

The pictures of the bee-faces in the section on telling the difference between the boy bees and the lady bees are cute. But the text, while not heavy in the least, is serious. Here is a man who believes in his bees and in ways in which we can acknowledge our part in the natural order by helping offset the pernicious effects of excess urbanization. The text is written at the layman's level; no technical knowledge is required to read and understand, but there are references for people who want to get more deeply involved with technical issues.

Here is everything you will need to know to decide whether you would like to harbor orchard mason bees and how to go about it if you do.

I got my first bee block from Knox Farms several years ago and upgraded to a bee condo last year. This year I took my courage in my hands and carefully changed my bee-full nesting tubes for clean ones to wait for spring. It was fascinating handling those tubes stuffed with beneficient bee life! I think this would be a great thing for kids to get involved with. (I'm fourty-something, and I think it's great).

If you are interested in giving a hard-working native bee a hand, and benefitting all of the fruit and berry plants in your neighborhood, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Easy to read but packed with information!

Detailed, methodical book about movie production. Great for a handbook/manual which I can refer to again and again. Quite useful and I highly recommend it. The appendices are simply brilliant (detailed pro forma financial statements, sample contracts and other essential docs).

The authors TRIED to spice up the text with an anecdote here and there, but it still reads somewhat like a textbook. Thus, buy the book if you're looking for real content, not juice.

This is one of the best books I have read in the industry and I own MANY . It is direct straight to the point and informative . I highly recommend

Great book. My son liked the story and the easy illustrations made it fun for him to learn to tie his own shoes. The colored lace does come out and could get lost,which is why libraries don't have them.

I have been struggling with teaching my 5-year-old son how to tie his own shoes. I just couldn't help him figure it out...until I bought this book!! This book has different colored shoe strings and pictures that helped visually see "the big picture!